Saturday, October 30, 2010

ABCs and 123s Apps Your Kids Will Actually Enjoy [Wired: GeekDad] - Side note: I've been reading this blog for over a year, and I can't figure out why they call it GeekDad. There's really very little that could be considered Dad-specific. It should be called GeekParent!

Saturday, October 23, 2010

Next Gen Learning Challenges - Have a great idea for improving college readiness with technology? There's grants of $250,000 to $750,000 available to fund it through this program.

Rhythm Rhyme Results - This company makes educational rap music that's not going to make you want to gouge your eyes out. They do sell their music, but there's quite a few free resources to download and/or access through their site.

Friday, October 15, 2010

82 Stores Offering Discounts for Teachers [Brad's Deals] - The fine folks at this coupon/deal-sharing blog did their homework and compiled a huge list of discounts to offset all of the out-of-pocket spending teachers do. Absolutely needs to be bookmarked for quick reference!

Chess Helps Troubled Kids in School [Educational Games Research] - Board and card games are not obsolete yet; in fact, I think they're more interesting for the "digital native" generation because for them, it's such a novel concept that something so simple can be so powerful.

Monday, October 11, 2010

Do you know a middle or high school student who's already an amazing, dedicated volunteer? If so, Prudential is offering a great chance to recognize them:

The Spirit of Community Awards has been honoring tens of thousands of middle and high school students for their volunteer work over the past 15 years. And now is the chance to get your students involved! On behalf of the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards, I invite you to encourage a young person in your life to apply today!

The Prudential Spirit of Community Awards is the largest youth recognition program in the country based exclusively on volunteer community service. And what better way to recognize our young heroes and inspire others to follow their lead than honoring them with these prestigious awards? If your students are from grades 5-12 and have demonstrated outstanding volunteerism over the past year, then encourage them to complete an online application at http://spirit.prudential.com. State and national honorees will receive a cash prize, a trip to Washington, D.C., and an engraved medallion to thank them for the great work they have done.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Online courses are gaining in popularity by the day; they’re sought after not just by adults who want to go back to school after a gap, but also by professionals who are looking to advance their careers and augment their earning potential. Today, the quality of education provided online is as good as that provided at any regular university; so if you do your research carefully and choose your school and course accordingly, there’s much to gain in the process.

If you’re in the teaching field and are looking for ways to develop professionally and grow personally, online courses are tailor-made to help you achieve these two goals.

Professional development happens through online courses because:

You improve your qualifications and academic credentials. This allows you to apply for positions higher up than the one you hold and provides you with the skills and knowledge required to climb up the career ladder.

You learn much more than you know now, and your enhanced knowledge and growing skill set allow you to compete with the best in the industry and still hold your own comfortably.

If you want to switch careers – say if you feel like moving to teaching at college from teaching at school – online courses are the best way to achieve your goal. They allow you to stay at your current job even as they prepare you for the one you’re aspiring for.

You also achieve personal growth when you choose to study online because:

You learn how to manage time better – your plate is full what with studying, attending classes, handling your responsibilities at the workplace, and taking care of familial and social duties, so unless you’re good at allocating time for each and balancing them all, you’re not likely to succeed.

You cultivate the discipline required to concentrate all your energies on the job at hand (be it studying or working) so that you can get it done in the shortest possible time and in the most effective manner.

You learn how to multi-task effectively without compromising the quality of the work you’re doing on all those tasks.

Earning a degree gives you a sense of personal achievement, especially if you’ve done it against all odds or at a time in your life when people have written you off for various reasons. The older you are, the more you appreciate completing a degree.

Remember however, that the benefits of online education are realized only if you make the effort to choose the right school and the right course – they must be accredited and serve to enhance your job skills and provide you with a means to move up professionally. Also, because you’re most likely going to be studying and working simultaneously, you must have excellent time management skills and also possess the required discipline and dedication to devote your energies to both tasks without shirking one for the other.

This guest post is contributed by Carrie Oakley, who writes on the topic of online colleges. Carrie welcomes your comments at her email id: carrie.oakley1983(AT)gmail(DOT)com.

Friday, October 8, 2010

Every link in this week's Five for Friday came from my personal learning network on Twitter (you can find me here). Recently, I launched a Twitter account for IDEA Public Schools, the charter management organization I work for. I'm well aware that very few people in the organization (and the wider educator community) understand that it's for far more than checking in on what celebrities had for breakfast. It is without a doubt the most powerful professional development tool I've accessed since starting this blog in 2007. If you haven't looked into it, I think you should.

10 Ways to Play and Learn with Building blocks [Quirky Momma] - I think you could adapt a lot of these ideas no matter what kind of blocks you're using (from foam/cardboard boxes to Legos and beyond), which is certainly a good thing.

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About Me

I am a former teacher, writer and blogger living in the Rio Grande Valley. A proud Teach For America alumnus (RGV 03), I've taught math and social studies for years in a variety of school types and grade levels. I was born and raised in New Jersey.